For some athletes, performing in front of family and friends can be a daunting task. The pressure to succeed, to impress, to live up to expectations can sometimes overwhelm even the most talented individuals.

That’s never been the case for Brady Shannon.

“The way I look at it, not many athletes beyond high school get to play on a field in their hometown, in front of a lot of people they know,” Shannon said. “To me, that’s an exciting experience. It’s an honor. It’s fun. I mean, there might be a little bit of nerves and anxiousness. If there weren’t, then maybe this isn’t for you. It just shows you care. But for me, there’s a lot more joyous excitement than there is pressure.”

Earlier this spring, Shannon, a 2022 Ursuline graduate, played baseball for Youngstown State. This summer, he is remaining close to home as a member of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

“To me, this is a thrill,” Shannon said. “I grew up going to Scrappers games with my dad. Any local kid that goes out there dreams of playing on that field. I’m fortunate to do it with two different teams.”

At Ursuline, Shannon was a three-sport standout who attracted Division I interest in both football and baseball. In football, he was a quarterback who gained All-Ohio honors as both a junior and senior.

Shannon began his college baseball career at UCF, but after one year, he transferred to YSU, where he was afforded the opportunity to play both football and baseball. He did just that, playing on the gridiron for the Penguins in the fall of 2024, then turning his focus back over to baseball in the spring of 2025.

It was in the summer of ’25 that Shannon reluctantly gave up football and decided to focus solely on baseball.

“It was tough. I absolutely love baseball, but I loved competing on the football field. I love the sport,” Shannon said. “But sometimes you have to make tough decisions, and I knew that if I had a future in sports, it would be in baseball.”

Shannon’s decision seems to have paid dividends. This past spring, he led YSU in home runs (15), RBI (35), total bases (98) and runs scored (39). Shannon’s strong showing earned him a spot on the Scrappers’ opening day roster.

On Wednesday in the Scrappers’ second game of the season, Shannon picked up his first hit and collected two RBI with an eighth-inning double, as the Scrappers defeated the Spikes 12-7.

“This was the first year I was solely focused on baseball from start to finish. I was honed in from day one, and it paid off,” Shannon said. “Not only from a mental aspect, but physically I was able to give my body a rest, allow it to reset and head into the baseball season completely refreshed.”

Though a multi-sport athlete nearly his entire life, Shannon says he never allowed sports to define who he is.

“I always found time to be a kid, to golf, fish, just hang out with friends,” Shannon said. “My parents always made sure there was a balance. Even in college, sports don’t get in the way of my academics or my social life. All of the other activities actually benefit the sports side of things.”

Shannon says that being able to perform in the Mahoning Valley is “extra rewarding” because of the area’s passion for sports.

“I can’t put into words what it’s like playing in the Mahoning Valley compared to other areas of the state or country,” Shannon said. “This is a great sports area. People are passionate about their sports, and there is a close-knit mentality. When you’re on the field, you can feel the energy, you can sense that the fans are bigtime behind you.”

Shannon, who is majoring in business administration, has one more year of college athletic eligibility remaining. He plans to enter the business world once his baseball career is over, and says he can even see himself returning to the sidelines as a coach.

“I’ve had some great coaches over the years who have inspired and helped me tremendously along the way,” Shannon said. “I would love to give back, to share my knowledge to the younger generation sometime down the road.”

SCRAPPERS COME BACK TO BEAT SPIKES, 8-5

For a second straight night, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers rallied from a deficit to defeat State College. This time, the Scrappers posted an 8-5 win over the Spikes at 717 Credit Union Field to lift their record to 3-0.

The Scrappers wasted no time scoring the game’s first run. In the bottom of the first, Josue Malave reached on a leadoff single, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on an error.

Malave is the son of Dennis Malave, who played for the Scrappers for parts of the 1999, 2000 and 2001 seasons. In 2019, Dennis Malave returned to manage the Scrappers.

A hit batter to lead off the top of the second led to the Spikes’ first run of the game, tying things up at 1-1.

A single and a walk put a pair of Scrappers on the basepaths to start the bottom of the second. A double play followed, but Carlos Sanchez stole third, then scored on the play on a throwing error by Spikes catcher Evan York.

The Scrappers eventually built a 4-1 lead before the Spikes recorded back-to-back two-run innings to grab the lead.

The Spikes scored a pair of runs in the fifth to cut the Scrappers’ lead to 4-3.

One inning later, the Spikes took a 5-4 advantage on an Evan York two-run home run. In the bottom of the sixth, the Scrappers knotted the game on a Sanchez RBI triple.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the eighth when Jack Cannon scored the go-ahead run on an inside-the-park home run. Two batters later, Jarren Purify added some insurance when he crushed a two-run home run deep over the left field wall.

The Scrappers will begin a three-game series tonight at Aberdeen. They return home on Tuesday to begin a six-game homestand.